Method and apparatus for allowing a remote site to interact with an intermediate database to facilitate access to the remote site

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for allowing a remote site to interact with an intermediate database to facilitate access to the remote site a method for delivering information from a source on a global communication network to a second and a user location thereon. A unique code is associated with an advertising action associated with the source location. The unique code is stored in a database and routing information over the global communication network to a defined location on the global communication network for the source associated with the unique code in the database. The unique code is delivered to the user and then accessed of the database by the user results in retrieval of the routing information associated with the delivered unique code by the user. The user is connected to the defined location associated with the delivered unique code in the database and in accordance with the associated routing information retrieved from the database. The associated routing information is changed in the database between the delivered unique code and another defined location on the global communication network in response to commands transferred to the database from the source, such that a later access of the database will cause the accessing user to be routed to another defined location.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/378,221, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,234 entitled “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR ACCESSING A REMOTE LOCATION BY SCANNING AN OPTICAL CODE,”filed on Aug. 19, 1999, which is a Continuation-in-Part of the followingtwo U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 09/151,471, now abandoned entitled“METHOD FOR INTERFACING SCANNED PRODUCT INFORMATION WITH A SOURCE FORTHE PRODUCT OVER A GLOBAL NETWORK,” and Ser. No. 09/151,530, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,098,106 entitled “METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A COMPUTER WITH ANAUDIO SIGNAL,” both filed on Sep. 11, 1998; the present applicationbeing related to the following U.S. patent applications Ser. No.09/382,426, still pending entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMPLETING,SECURING AND CONDUCTING AN E-COMMERCE TRANSACTION;” Ser. No. 09/382,424,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,799 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACKINGUSER PROFILE AND HABITS ON A GLOBAL NETWORK;” Ser. No. 09/382,425, stillpending entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DIRECTING AN EXISTING PRODUCTCODE TO A REMOTE LOCATION;” Ser. No. 09/382,373, still pending entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING A WEB SITE WITH A NON-STANDARDCONTROL INPUT DEVICE;” Ser. No. 09/382,371, still pending entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING A WEB SITE IN RESPONSE TO SCANNINGOF A PRODUCT CODE;” Ser. No. 09/382,422, now abandoned entitled “UNIQUEID FOR IDENTIFYING A USER AND FACILITATING AN E-COMMERCE TRANSACTION;”Ser. No. 09/382,377, still pending entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORLINKING A WEB BROWSER TO A PROMOTIONAL OFFER OVER A GLOBAL NETWORK;”Ser. No. 09/382,375, still pending entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORUTILIZING AN EXISTING PRODUCT CODE TO ISSUE A MATCH TO A PREDETERMINEDLOCATION ON A GLOBAL NETWORK;” Ser. No. 09/379,699, still pendingentitled “NETWORK ROUTING UTILIZING A PRODUCT CODE;” Ser. No.09/379,700, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,354 entitled “METHOD FORINTERCONNECTING TWO LOCATIONS OVER A NETWORK IN RESPONSE TO USING ATOOL;” Ser. No. 09/496,790, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,388, and entitled“WEB SITE ACCESS BY MANUAL ENTRY OF A CHARACTER STRING INTO A SOFTWAREINTERFACE;”

Ser. No. 09/496,208, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,715, and entitled “BAR CODESCANNER AND SOFTWARE INTERFACE INTERLOCK;” and, Ser. No. 09/497,252 nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,622,165, and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ALLOWINGA REMOTE SITE TO INTERACT WITH AN INTERMEDIATE DATABASE TO FACILITATEACCESS TO THE REMOTE SITE”.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to a method of computer control and, moreparticularly, to a system for automatically directing a web browserapplication on the computer to retrieve and display information inresponse to an analog signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the growing numbers of computer users connecting to the “Internet,”many companies are seeking the substantial commercial opportunitiespresented by such a large user base. For example, one technology whichexists allows a television (“TV”) signal to trigger a computer responsein which the consumer will be guided to a personalized web page. Thesource of the triggering signal may be a TV, video tape recorder, orradio. For example, if a viewer is watching a TV program in which anadvertiser offers viewer voting, the advertiser may transmit a uniquesignal within the television signal which controls a program known as a“browser” on the viewer's computer to automatically display theadvertiser's web page. The viewer then simply makes a selection which isthen transmitted back to the advertiser.

In order to provide the viewer with the capability of responding to awide variety of companies using this technology, a database of companyinformation and Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) codes is necessarilymaintained in the viewer's computer, requiring continuous updates. URLsare short strings of data that identify resources on the Internet:documents, images, downloadable files, services, electronic mailboxes,and other resources. URLs make resources available under a variety ofnaming schemes and access methods such as HTTP, FTP, and Internet mail,addressable in the same simple way. URLs reduce the tedium of “login tothis server, then issue this magic command . . . ” down to a singleclick. The Internet uses URLs to specify the location of files on otherservers. A URL includes the type of resource being accessed (e.g., Web,gopher, FTP), the address of the server, and the location of the file.The URL can point to any file on any networked computer. Currenttechnology requires the viewer to perform periodic updates to obtain themost current URL database. This aspect of the current technology iscumbersome since the update process requires downloading information tothe viewer's computer. Moreover, the likelihood for error in performingthe update, and the necessity of redoing the update in the event of alater computer crash, further complicates the process. Additionally,current technologies are limited in the number of companies which may bestored in the database. This is a significant limitation sinceworld-wide access presented by the Internet and the increasing number ofcompanies connecting to perform on-line E-commerce necessitates a largedatabase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspectthereof, comprises a method for delivering information from a source ona global communication network to a second and a user location thereon.A unique code is associated with an advertising action associated withthe source location. The unique code is stored in a database and routinginformation over the global communication network to a defined locationon the global communication network for the source associated with theunique code in the database. The unique code is delivered to the userand then accessed of the database by the user results in retrieval ofthe routing information associated with the delivered unique code by theuser. The user is connected to the defined location associated with thedelivered unique code in the database and in accordance with theassociated routing information retrieved from the database. Theassociated routing information is changed in the database between thedelivered unique code and another defined location on the globalcommunication network in response to commands transferred to thedatabase from the source, such that a later access of the database willcause the accessing user to be routed to another defined location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the computer components employed in this embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates system interactions over a global network;

FIGS. 4 a-4 e illustrate the various message packets transmitted betweenthe source PC and network servers used in the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting operation of the system according to thepreferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of actions taken by the AdvertiserReference Server (“ARS”) server;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of the interactive process between thesource computer and ARS;

FIG. 8 illustrates a web browser page receiving the modifiedURL/advertiser product data according to the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the disclosedembodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a more detailed, simplified block diagram of theembodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a method for performing therouting operation;

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment utilizingan optical region in the video image for generating the routinginformation;

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram illustrating the generation of aprofile with the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart for generating the profile and storingat the ARS;

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart for processing the profile informationwhen information is routed to a user;

FIG. 16 illustrates a general block diagram of a disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 17 illustrates the conversion circuit of the wedge interface;

FIG. 18 illustrates a sample message packet transmitted from the user PCto the ARS;

FIG. 19 illustrates a more detailed block diagram of the routing of themessage packets between the various nodes;

FIG. 20 illustrates a block diagram of a browser window, according to adisclosed embodiment;

FIG. 21 illustrates a diagrammatic view of information contained in theARS database;

FIG. 22 illustrates a flowchart of the process of receiving informationfor the user's perspective;

FIG. 23 illustrates a flowchart according to the ARS;

FIG. 24 illustrates a flowchart of the process performed at theE-commerce node;

FIG. 25 illustrates a diagrammatic view of an alternate embodimentwherein the advertiser server can interface with the ARS directly;

FIG. 26 illustrates a table at the ARS database;

FIG. 27 illustrates a flowchart depicting the operational access betweenthe advertiser server and the ARS;

FIG. 28 illustrates a flowchart depicting the interactive operationbetween advertiser servers and a user; and

FIG. 29 illustrates a flowchart depicting the operation at a givenadvertiser slave node.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of asystem for controlling a personal computer (“PC”) 112 via an audio tonetransmitted over a wireless system utilizing a TV. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1, there is provided a transmission station 101 anda receive station 117 that are connected via a communication link 108.The transmission station 101 is comprised of a television program source104, which is operable to generate a program in the form of a broadcastsignal comprised of video and audio. This is transmitted viaconventional techniques along channels in the appropriate frequencies.The program source is input to a mixing device 106, which mixing deviceis operable to mix in an audio signal. This audio signal is derived froman audio source 100 which comprises a coded audio signal which is thenmodulated onto a carrier which is combined with the television programsource 104. This signal combining can be done at the audio level, or itcan even be done at the RF level in the form a different carrier.However, the preferred method is to merely sum the audio signal from themodulator 102 into the audio channel of the program that is generated bythe television program source 104. The output thereof is provided fromthe mixing device 106 in the form of broadcast signal to an antenna 107,which transmits the information over the communication link 108 to anantenna 109 on the receive side.

On the receive side of the system, a conventional receiver 110, such asa television is provided. This television provides a speaker outputwhich provides the user with an audible signal. This is typicallyassociated with the program. However, the receiver 110 in the disclosedembodiment, also provides an audio output jack, this being the type RCAjack. This jack is utilized to provide an audio output signal on a line113 which is represented by an audio signal 111. This line 113 providesall of the audio that is received over the communication link 108 to thePC 112 in the audio input port on the PC 112. However, it should beunderstood that, although a direct connection is illustrated from thereceiver 110 to the PC 112, there actually could be a microphone pickupat the PC 112 which could pick the audio signal up. In the disclosedembodiment, the audio signal generated by the advertiser data inputdevice 100 is audible to the human ear and, therefore, can be heard bythe user. Therefore, no special filters are needed to provide this audioto the PC 112.

The PC 112 is operable to run programs thereon which typically arestored in a program file area 116. These programs can be any type ofprograms such as word processing programs, application programs, etc. Inthe disclosed embodiment, the program that is utilized in the system iswhat is referred to as a “browser.” The PC 112 runs a browser program tofacilitate the access of information on the network, for example, aglobal communication network known as the “Internet” or theWorld-Wide-Web (“Web”). The browser is a hypertext-linked applicationused for accessing information. Hypertext is a term used to describe aparticular organization of information within a data processing system,and its presentation to a user. It exploits the computer's ability tolink together information from a wide variety of sources to provide theuser with the ability to explore a particular topic. The traditionalstyle of presentation used in books employs an organization of theinformation which is imposed upon it by limitations of the medium,namely fixed sized, sequential paper pages. Hypertext systems, however,use a large number of units of text or other types of data such as imageinformation, graphical information, video information, or soundinformation, which can vary in size. A collection of such units ofinformation is termed a hypertext document, or where the hypertextdocuments employ information other than text, hypermedia documents.Multimedia communications may use the Hypertext Transfer Protocol(“HTTP”), and files or formatted data may use the Hypertext MarkupLanguage (“HTML”). This formatting language provides for a mingling oftext, graphics, sound, video, and hypertext links by “tagging” a textdocument using HTML. Data encoded using HTML is often referred to as an“HTML document,” an “HTML page,” or a “home page.” These documents andother Internet resources may be accessed across the network by means ofa network addressing scheme which uses a locator referred to as aUniform Resource Locator (“URL”), for example, “http://www.digital.com.”

The Internet is one of the most utilized networks for interconnectingdistributed computer systems and allows users of these computer systemsto exchange data all over the world. Connected to the Internet are manyprivate networks, for example, corporate or commercial networks.Standard protocols, such as the Transport Control Protocol (“TCP”) andthe Internet Protocol (“IP”) provide a convenient method forcommunicating across these diverse networks. These protocols dictate howdata are formatted and communicated. As a characteristic of theInternet, the protocols are layered in an IP stack. At higher levels ofthe IP stack, such as the application layer (where HTTP is employed),the user information is more readily visible, while at lower levels,such as the network level (where TCP/IP are used), the data can merelybe observed as packets or a stream of rapidly moving digital signals.Superimposed on the Internet is a standard protocol interface foraccessing Web resources, such as servers, files, Web pages, mailmessages, and the like. One way that Web resources can be accessed is bybrowsers made by Netscape® and Microsoft Internet Explorer®.

Referring again now to FIG. 1, the user can load this program with theappropriate keystrokes such that a browser window will be displayed on adisplay 118. In one embodiment, the user can run the browser program onthe PC 112 such that the browser window is displayed on the display 118.While watching a preferred program, the user can also view display 118.When an audio signal is received by the receiver 110 and the encodedinformation is contained therein that was input thereto by theadvertiser, the PC 112 will then perform a number of operations. Thefirst operation, according to the disclosed embodiment, is to extractthe audio information within the received audio signal in the form ofdigital data, and then transmit this digital data to a defined locationon the global communication network via a modem connection 114. Thisconnection will be described hereinbelow. This information will berelayed to a proprietary location and the instructions sent back to thePC 112 as to the location of the advertiser associated with the code,and the PC 112 will then effect a communication link to that locationsuch that the user can view on the display 118 information that theadvertiser, by the fact of putting the tone onto the broadcast channel,desires the viewer to view. This information can be in the form ofinteractive programs, data files, etc. In one example, when anadvertisement appears on the television, the tone can be generated andthen additional data displayed on the display 118. Additionally, astreaming video program could be played on the PC received over thenetwork, which streaming video program is actually longer than theadvertising segment on the broadcast. Another example would be a sportsgame that would broadcast the tone in order to allow a user access toinformation that is not available over the broadcast network, such asadditional statistics associated with the sports program, etc.

By utilizing the system described herein with respect to the disclosedembodiment of FIG. 1, an advertiser is allowed the ability to control auser's PC 112 through the use of tones embedded within a program audiosignal. As will described hereinbelow, the disclosed embodiment utilizesparticular routing information stored in the PC 112 which allows theencoded information in the received audio signal to route thisinformation to a desired location on the network, and then allow otherrouting information to be returned to the PC 112 for control thereof toroute the PC 112 to the appropriate location associated with that code.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a computer 204, similar tocomputer 112, connected to display information on display 118. Thecomputer 204 comprises an internal audio or “sound” card 206 forreceiving the transmitted audio signal through receive antenna 109 andreceiver 110. The sound card 206 typically contains analog-to-digitalcircuitry for converting the analog audio signal into a digital signal.The digital signal may then be more easily manipulated by softwareprograms. The receiver 110 separates the audio signal from the videosignal. A special trigger signal located within the transmittedadvertiser audio signal triggers proprietary software running on thecomputer 204 which launches a communication application, in thisparticular embodiment, the web browser application located on the PC204. Coded advertiser information contained within the audio signal isthen extracted and appended with the address of a proprietary serverlocated on the communication network. The remote server address is inthe form of a URL. This appended data, in addition to other controlcodes, is inserted directly into the web browser application forautomatic routing to the communication network. The web browser runningon PC 204, and communicating to the network through an internal modem208, in this embodiment, transmits the advertiser information to theremote server. The remote server cross-references the advertiser productinformation to the address of the advertiser server located on thenetwork. The address of the advertiser server is routed back through thePC 204 web browser to the advertiser server. The advertiser productinformation is returned to PC 204 to be presented to the viewer ondisplay 118. In this particular embodiment, the particular advertiserproduct information displayed is contained within the advertiser's webpage 212. As mentioned above, the audio signal is audible to the humanear. Therefore the audio signal, as emitted from the TV speakers, may beinput to the sound card 206 via a microphone. Furthermore, the audiosignal need not be a real-time broadcast, but may be on video tapes,CDs, DVD, or other media which may be displayed at a later date. Withthe imminent implementation of high definition digital television, theaudio signal output from the TV may also be digital. Therefore, directinput into a sound card for A/D purposes may not be necessary, butalternative interfacing techniques to accommodate digital-to-digitalsignal formats would apply.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a source PC 302, similarto PCs 204 and 112, connected to a global communication network (GCN)306 through an interface 304. In this embodiment, the audio signal 111is received by PC 302 through its sound card 206. The audio signal 111comprises a trigger signal which triggers proprietary software intolaunching a web browser application residing on the PC 302. The audiosignal 111 also comprises advertiser product information which isextracted and appended with URL information of an Advertiser ReferenceServer (“ARS”) 308. The ARS 308 is a system disposed on the network thatis defined as the location to which data in the audio signal 111 is tobe routed. As such, data in the audio signal 111 will always be routedto the ARS 308, since a URL is unique on the network system. Connectedto the ARS 308 is a database 310 of product codes and associatedmanufacturer URLs. The database 310 undergoes a continual update processwhich is transparent to the user. As companies sign-on, e.g., subscribe,to this technology, manufacturer and product information is added to thedatabase 310 without interrupting operation of the source PC 302 withfrequent updates. When the advertiser server address URL is obtainedfrom the ARS database 310, it and the request for the particularadvertiser product information is automatically routed back through theweb browser on PC 302, over to the respective advertiser server forretrieval of the advertiser product information to the PC 302. It shouldbe noted that although the disclosed invention discusses a globalcommunication network, the system is also applicable to LANs, WANs, andpeer-to-peer network configurations. It should be noted that thedisclosed architecture is not limited to a single source PC 302, but maycomprise a plurality of source PCs, e.g., PC 300 and PC 303. Moreover, aplurality of ARS 308 systems and advertiser servers 312 may beimplemented, e.g., ARS 314, and advertiser server A 316, respectively.

The information transactions, in general, which occur between thenetworked systems of this embodiment, over the communication network,are the following. The web browser running on source PC 302 transmits amessage packet to the ARS 308 over Path “A.” The ARS 308 decodes themessage packet and performs a cross-reference function with productinformation extracted from the received message packet to obtain theaddress of an advertiser server 312. A new message packet is assembledcomprising the advertiser server 312 address, and sent back to thesource PC 302 over Path “B.” A “handoff” operation is performed wherebythe source PC 302 browser simply reroutes the information on to theadvertiser server 312 over Path “C,” with the appropriate source anddestination address appended. The advertiser server 312 receives anddecodes the message packet. Therequest-for-advertiser-product-information is extracted and theadvertiser 312 retrieves the requested information from its database fortransmission back to the source PC 302 over Path “D.” The source PC 302then processes the information, i.e., for display to the viewer. Theoptional Path “E” is discussed hereinbelow. It should be noted that thedisclosed methods are not limited to only browser communicationapplications, but may accommodate, with sufficient modifications by oneskilled in the art, other communication applications used to transmitinformation over the Internet or communication network.

Referring now to FIG. 4 a, the message packet 400 sent from the sourcePC 302 to ARS 308 via Path “A” comprises several fields. One fieldcomprises the URL of the ARS 308 which indicates where the messagepacket is to be sent. Another field comprises the advertiser productcode or other information derived from the audio signal 111, and anyadditional overhead information required for a given transaction. Theproduct code provides a link to the address of the advertiser server312, located in the database 310. Yet another field comprises thenetwork address of the source PC 302. In general, network transmissionsare effected in packets of information, each packet providing adestination address, a source address, and data. These packets varydepending upon the network transmission protocol utilized forcommunication. Although the protocols utilized in the disclosedembodiment are of a conventional protocol suite commonly known asTCP/IP, it should be understood that any protocols providing the similarbasic functions can be used, with the primary requirement that a browsercan forward the routing information to the desired URL in response tokeystrokes being input to a PC. However, it should be understood thatany protocol can be used, with the primary requirement that a browsercan forward the product information to the desired URL in response tokeystrokes being input to a PC. Within the context of this disclosure,“message packet” shall refer to and comprise the destination URL,product information, and source address, even though more than a singlepacket must be transmitted to effect such a transmission.

Upon receipt of the message packet 400 from source PC 302, ARS 308processes the information in accordance with instructions embedded inthe overhead information. The ARS 308 specifically will extract theproduct code information from the received packet 400 and, onceextracted, will then decode this product code information. Once decoded,this information is then compared with data contained within the ARSadvertiser database 310 to determine if there is a “hit.” If there is no“hit” indicating a match, then information is returned to the browserindicating such. If there is a “hit,” a packet 402 is assembled whichcomprises the address of the source PC 302, and information instructingthe source PC 302 as to how to access, directly in a “handoff”operation, another location on the network, that of an advertiser server312. This type of construction is relatively conventional with browserssuch as Netscape® and Microsoft Internet Explorer® and, rather thandisplaying information from the ARS 308, the source PC 302 can thenaccess the advertiser server 312. The ARS 308 transmits the packet 402back to source PC 302 over Path “B.” Referring now to FIG. 4 b, themessage packet 402 comprises the address of the source PC 302, the URLof the advertiser server 312 embedded within instructional code, and theURL of the ARS 308.

Upon receipt of the message packet 402 by the source PC 302, the messagepacket 402 is disassembled to obtain pertinent routing information forassembly of a new message packet 404. The web browser running on sourcePC 302 is now directed to obtain, over Path “C,” the product informationrelevant to the particular advertiser server 312 location informationembedded in message packet 404. Referring now to FIG. 4 c, the messagepacket 404 for this transaction comprises the URL of the advertiserserver 312, the request-for-product-information data, and the address ofthe source PC 302.

Upon receipt of the message packet 404 from source PC 302, advertiserserver 312 disassembles the message packet 404 to obtain therequest-for-product-information data. The advertiser server 312 thenretrieves the particular product information from its database, andtransmits it over Path “D” back to the source PC 302. Referring now toFIG. 4 d, the message packet 406 for this particular transactioncomprises the address of the source PC 302, the requested information,and the URL of the advertiser server 312.

Optionally, the ARS 308 may make a direct request for productinformation over Path “E” to advertiser server 312. In this mode, theARS 308 sends information to the advertiser server 312 instructing it tocontact the source PC 302. This, however, is unconventional and requiresmore complex software control. The message packet 408 for thistransaction is illustrated in FIG. 4 e, which comprises the URL of theadvertiser server 312, the request-for-product-information data, and theaddress of the source PC 302. Since product information is not beingreturned to the ARS 308, but directly to the source PC 302, the messagepacket 408 requires the return address to be that of the source PC 302.The product information is then passed directly to PC 302 over Path “D.”

Referring now to FIG. 5, the method for detecting and obtaining productinformation is as follows. In decision block 500, a proprietaryapplication running resident on a source computer PC 302 (similar to PC204) monitors the audio input for a special trigger signal. Upondetection of the trigger signal, data following the trigger signal isdecoded for further processing, in function block 502. In function block504, the data is buffered for further manipulation. In decision block506, a determination is made as to whether the data can be properlyauthenticated. If not, program flow continues through the “N” signal tofunction block 520 where the data is discarded. In function block 522,the program then signals for a retransmission of the data. The systemthen waits for the next trigger signal, in decision block 500. Ifproperly authenticated in decision block 506, program flow continuesthrough the “Y” signal path where the data is then used to launch theweb browser application, as indicated in function block 508. In functionblock 510, the web browser receives the URL data, which is thenautomatically routed through the computer modem 208 to the networkinterface 304 and ultimately to the network 306. In function block 514,the ARS 308 responds by returning the URL of advertiser server 312 tothe PC 302. In function block 516, the web browser running on the sourcePC 302, receives the advertiser URL information from the ARS 308, andtransmits the URL for the product file to the advertiser server 312. Inblock 518, the advertiser server 312 responds by sending the productinformation to the source PC 302 for processing.

The user may obtain the benefits of this architecture by simplydownloading the proprietary software over the network. Other methods forobtaining the software are well-known; for example, by CD, diskette, orpre-loaded hard drives.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a flowchart of the processthe ARS 308 may undergo when receiving the message packet 400 from thesource PC 302. In decision block 600, the ARS 308 checks for the receiptof the message packet 400. If a message packet 400 is not received,program flow moves along the “N” path to continue waiting for themessage. If the message packet 400 is received, program flow continuesalong path “Y” for message processing. Upon receipt of the messagepacket 400, in function block 602, the ARS 308 decodes the messagepacket 400. The product code is then extracted independently in functionblock 604 in preparation for matching the product code with theappropriate advertiser server address located in the database 310. Infunction block 606, the product code is then used with a lookup table toretrieve the advertiser server 312 URL of the respective productinformation contained in the audio signal data. In function block 608,the ARS 308 then assembles message packet 402 for transmission back tothe source PC 302. Function block 610 indicates the process of sendingthe message packet 402 back to the source PC 302 over Path “B.”

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a flowchart of theinteractive processes between the source PC 302 and the advertiserserver 312. In function block 700, the source PC 302 receives themessage packet 402 back from the ARS 308 and begins to decode the packet402. In function block 702, the URL of the advertiser productinformation is extracted from the message packet 402 and saved forinsertion into the message packet 404 to the advertiser server 312. Themessage packet 404 is then assembled and sent by the source PC 302 overPath “C” to the advertiser server 312, n function block 704. While thesource PC 302 waits, in function block 706, the advertiser server 312receives the message packet 404 from the source PC 302, in functionblock 708, and disassembles it. The product information location is thenextracted from the message packet 404 in function block 710. Theparticular product information is retrieved from the advertiser server312 database for transmission back to the source PC 302. In functionblock 712, the product information is assembled into message packet 406and then transmitted back to the source PC 302 over Path “D.” Returningto the source PC 302 in function block 714, the advertiser productinformation contained in the message packet 406 received from theadvertiser server 312, is then extracted and processed in function block716.

Referring now to FIG. 8, after receipt of a trigger signal, a webbrowser application on a source PC 302 is automatically launched andcomputer display 800 presents a browser page 802. Proprietary softwarerunning on the source PC 302 processes the audio signal data after beingdigitized through the sound card 206. The software appropriatelyprepares the data for insertion directly into the web browser byextracting the product information code and appending keystroke data tothis information. First, a URL page 804 is opened in response to aCtrl-O command added by the proprietary software as the first characterstring. Opening URL page 804 automatically positions the cursor in afield 806 where additional keystroke data following the Ctrl-O commandwill be inserted. After URL page 804 is opened, the hypertext protocolpreamble http:// is inserted into the field 806. Next, URL informationassociated with the location of the ARS 308 is inserted into field 806.Following the ARS 308 URL data are the characters /? to allow entry ofvariables immediately following the /? characters. In this embodiment,the variable following is the product information code received in theaudio signal. The product code information also provides thecross-reference information for obtaining the advertiser URL from theARS database 310. Next, a carriage return is added to send theURL/product data and close the window 804. After the message packet 400is transmitted to the ARS 308 from the source PC 302, transactions fromthe ARS 308, to the source PC 302, to the advertiser server 312, andback to the source PC 302, occur quickly and are transparent to theviewer. At this point, the next information the viewer sees is theproduct information which was received from the advertiser server 312.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a block diagram of a moresimplified embodiment. In this embodiment, a video source 902 isprovided which is operable to provide an audio output on an audio cable901 which provides routing information referred to by reference numeral904. The routing information 904 is basically information containedwithin the audio signal. This is an encoded or embedded signal. Theimportant aspect of the routing information 904 is that it isautomatically output in realtime as a function of the broadcast of thevideo program received over the video source 902. Therefore, wheneverthe program is being broadcast in realtime to the user 908, the routinginformation 904 will be output whenever the producer of the videodesires it to be produced. It should be understood that the box 902representing the video source could be any type of media that willresult in the routing information being output. This could be a cassetteplayer, a DVD player, an audio cassette, a CD ROM or any such media. Itis only important that this is a program that the producer developswhich the user 908 watches in a continuous or a streaming manner.Embedded within that program, at a desired point selected by theproducer, the routing information 904 is output.

The audio information is then routed to a PC 906, which is similar tothe PC 112 in FIG. 1. A user 908 is interfaced with the PC to receiveinformation thereof, the PC 906 having associated therewith a display(not shown). The PC 906 is interfaced with a network 910, similar to thenetwork 306 in FIG. 3. This network 910 has multiple nodes thereon, oneof which is the PC 906, and another of which is represented by a networknode 912 which represents remote information. The object of the presentembodiment is to access remote information for display to the user 908by the act of transmitting from the video program in block 902 therouting information 904. This routing information 904 is utilized toallow the PC 906 which has a network “browser” running thereon to“fetch” the remote information at the node 912 over the network 910 fordisplay to the user 908. This routing information 904 is in the form ofan embedded code within the audio signal, as was described hereinabove.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a more detailed blockdiagram of the embodiment of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the PC 906 issplit up into a couple of nodes, a first PC 1002 and a second PC 1004.The PC 1002 resides at the node associated with the user 908, and the PC1004 resides at another node. The PC 1004 represents the ARS 308 of FIG.3. The PC 1004 has a database 1006 associated therewith, which isbasically the advertiser database 310. Therefore, there are three nodeson the network 910 necessary to implement the disclosed embodiment, thePC 1002, the PC 1004 and the remote information node 912. The routinginformation 904 is utilized by the PC 1002 for routing to the PC 1004 todetermine the location of the remote information node 912 on the network910. This is returned to the PC 1002 and a connection made directly withthe remote information node 912 and the information retrieved therefromto the user 908. The routing information 904 basically constitutesprimary routing information.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a diagrammatic view ofhow the network packet is formed for sending the primary routinginformation to the PC 1004. In general, the primary routing informationoccupies a single field which primary routing information is thenassembled into a data packet with the secondary routing information fortransfer to the network 910. This is described hereinabove in detail.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is illustrated an alternate embodimentto that of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the video source 902 hasassociated therewith an optical region 1202, which optical region 1202has disposed therein an embedded video code. This embedded video codecould be relatively complex or as simple as a grid of dark and whiteregions, each region in the grid able to have a dark color for a logic“1” or a white region for a logic “0.” This will allow a digital valueto be disposed within the optical region 1202. A sensor 1204 can then beprovided for sensing this video code. In the example above, this wouldmerely require an array of optical detectors, one for each region in thegrid to determine whether this is a logic “1” or a logic “0” state. Oneof the sensed video is then output to the PC 906 for processing thereofto determine the information contained therein, which informationcontained therein constitutes the primary routing information 904.Thereafter, it is processed as described hereinabove with reference toFIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is illustrated a block diagram for anembodiment wherein a user's profile can be forwarded to the originalsubscriber or manufacturer. The PC 906 has associated therewith aprofile database 1302, which profile database 1302 is operable to storea profile of the user 908. This profile is created when the program,after initial installation, requests profile information to be input inorder to activate the program. In addition to the profile, there is alsoa unique ID that is provided to the user 908 in association with thebrowser program that runs on the PC 906. This is stored in a storagelocation represented by a block 1304. This ID 1304 is accessible by aremote location as a “cookie” which is information that is stored in thePC 906 in an accessible location, which accessible location is actuallyaccessible by the remote program running on a remote node.

The ARS 308, which basically constitutes the PC 1004 of FIG. 10, isoperable to have associated therewith a profile database 1308, whichprofile database 1308 is operable to store profiles for all of theusers. The profile database 1308 is a combination of the stored inprofile database 1302 for all of the PCs 906 that are attachable to thesystem. This is to be distinguished from information stored in thedatabase 310, the advertiser's database, which contains intermediatedestination tables. When the routing information in the primary routinginformation 904 is forwarded to the ARS 308 and extracted from theoriginal data packet, the lookup procedure described hereinabove canthen be performed to determine where this information is to be routed.The profile database 1302 is then utilized for each transaction, whereineach transaction in the form of the routing information received fromthe primary routing information 904 is compared to the destinationtables 310 to determine what manufacturer it is associated with. Theassociated ID 1304 that is transmitted along with the routinginformation in primary routing information 904 is then compared with theprofile database 1308 to determine if a profile associated therewith isavailable. This information is stored in a transaction database 1310such that, at a later time, for each routing code received in the formof the information in primary routing information 904, there willassociated therewith the IDs 1304 of each of the PCs 906. The associatedprofiles in database 1308, which are stored in association with IDs1304, can then be assembled and transmitted to a subscriber asreferenced by a subscriber node 1312 on the network 910. The ARS 308 cando this in two modes, a realtime mode or a non-realtime mode. In arealtime mode, each time a PC 906 accesses the advertiser database 310,that user's profile information is uploaded to the subscriber node 1312.At the same time, billing information is generated for that subscriber1312 which is stored in a billing database 1316. Therefore, the ARS 308has the ability to inform the subscriber 1312 of each transaction, billfor those transactions, and also provide to the subscriber 1312 profileinformation regarding who is accessing the particular productadvertisement having associated therewith the routing information field904 for a particular routing code as described hereinabove. Thisinformation, once assembled, can then be transmitted to the subscriber1312 and also be reflected in billing information and stored in thebilling information database 1316.

Referring now to FIG. 14, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation for storing the profile for the user. The program is initiatedin a block 1402 and then proceeds to a function block 1404, wherein thesystem will prompt for the profile upon initiation of the system. Thisinitiation is a function that is set to activate whenever the userinitially loads the software that he or she is provided. The purpose forthis is to create, in addition to the setup information, a user profile.Once the user is prompted for this, then the program will flow to adecision block 1406 to determine whether the user provides basic ordetailed information. This is selectable by the user. If selectingbasic, the program will flow to a function block 1408 wherein the userwill enter basic information such as name and serial number and possiblyan address. However, to provide some incentive to the user to enter moreinformation, the original prompt in function block 1404 would haveoffers for such things as coupons, discounts, etc, if the user willenter additional information. If the user selects this option, theprogram from the decision block 1406 to a function block 1410. In thefunction block 1410, the user is prompted to enter specific informationsuch as job, income level, general family history, demographicinformation and more. There can be any amount of information collectedin this particular function block.

Once all of the information is collected, in either the basic mode orthe more specific mode, the program will then flow to a function block1412 where this information is stored locally. The program then flows toa decision block 1414 to then go on-line to the host or the ARS 308. Ingeneral, the user is prompted to determine whether he or she wants tosend this information to the host at the present time or to send itlater. If he or she selects the “later” option, the program will flow toa function block 1415 to prompt the user at a later time to send theinformation. In the disclosed embodiment, the user will not be able toutilize the software until the profile information is sent to the host.Therefore, the user may have to activate this at a later time in orderto connect with the host.

If the user has selected the option to upload the profile information tothe host, the program will flow to the function block 1416 to initiatethe connect process and then to a decision block 1418 to determine ifthe connection has been made. If not, the program will flow along a “N”path to a time to decision block 1420 which will time to an error block1422 or back to the input of the connect decision block 1418. Theprogram, once connected, will then flow along a “Y” path from decisionblock 1418 to a function block 1428 to send the profile information withthe ID of the computer or user to the host. The ID is basically, asdescribed hereinabove, a “cookie” in the computer which is accessed bythe program when transmitting to the host. The program will then flow toa function block 1430 to activate the program such that it, at latertime, can operate without requiring all of the set up information. Ingeneral, all of the operation of this flowchart is performed with a“wizard” which steps the user through the setup process. Once complete,the program will flow to a Done block 1432.

Referring now to FIG. 15, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation of the host when receiving a transaction. The program isinitiated at a start block 1502 and then proceeds to decision block1504, wherein it is determined whether the system has received a routingrequest, i.e., the routing information 904 in the form of a tone, etc.,embedded in the audio signal as described hereinabove with respect toFIG. 9. The program will loop back around to the input of decision block1504 until the routing request has been received. At this time, theprogram will flow along the “Y” path to a function block 1506 to receivethe primary routing information and the user ID. Essentially, thisprimary routing information is extracted from the audio tone, inaddition to the user ID. The program then flows to a function block 1508to look up the manufacturer URL that corresponds to the received primaryrouting information and then return the necessary command information tothe originating PC 108 in order to allow that PC to connect to thedestination associated with the primary routing information. Thereafter,the program will flow to a function block 1510 to update the transactiondatabase 1310 for the current transaction. In general, the routinginformation 904 will be stored as a single field with the associatedIDs. The profile database, as described hereinabove, has associatedtherewith detailed profiles of each user on the system that hasactivated their software in association with their ID. Since the ID wassent in association with the routing information, what is stored in thetransaction database is the routing code, in association with all of theIDs transmitted to the system in association with that particularrouting code. Once this transaction database has been updated, asdescribed hereinabove, the transactions can be transferred back to thesubscriber at node 312 with the detailed profile information from theprofile database 1308.

The profile information can be transmitted back to the subscriber ormanufacturer in the node 312 in realtime or non-realtime. A decisionblock 1512 is provided for this, which determines if the delivery isrealtime. If realtime, the program will flow along a “Y” path to afunction block 1514 wherein the information will be immediatelyforwarded to the manufacturer or subscriber. The program will then flowto a function block 1516 wherein the billing for that particularmanufacturer or subscriber will be updated in the billing database 1316.The program will then flow into an End block 1518. If it wasnon-realtime, the program moves along the “N” path to a function block1520 wherein it is set for a later delivery and it is accrued in thetransaction database. In any event, the transaction database will accrueall information associated with a particular routing code.

With a realtime transaction, it is possible for a manufacturer to placean ad in a magazine or to place a product on a shelf at a particulartime. The manufacturer can thereafter monitor the times when either theads are or the products are purchased. Of course, they must be scannedinto a computer which will provide some delay. However, the manufacturercan gain a very current view of how a product is moving. For example, ifa cola manufacturer were to provide a promotional advertisement on, forexample, television, indicating that a new cola was going to be placedon the shelf and that the first 1000 purchasers, for example, scanningtheir code into the network would receive some benefit, such as a chanceto win a trip to some famous resort in Florida or some other incentive,the manufacturer would have a very good idea as to how well theadvertisement was received. Further, the advertiser would know where thereceptive markets were. If this advertiser, for example, had placed thetelevision advertisement in ten cities and received overwhelmingresponse from one city, but very poor response from another city, hewould then have some inclination to believe that either thepoor-response city was not a good market or that the advertising mediumhe had chosen was very poor. Since the advertiser can obtain arelatively instant response and also content with that response as tothe demographics of the responder, very important information can beobtained in a relatively short time.

It should be noted that the disclosed embodiment is not limited to asingle source PC 302, but may encompass a large number of sourcecomputers connected over a global communication network. Additionally,the embodiment is not limited to a single ARS 308 or a single advertiserserver 312, but may include a plurality of ARS and advertiser systems,indicated by the addition of ARS 314 and advertiser server A 316,respectively. It should also be noted that this embodiment is notlimited only to global communication networks, but also may be used withLAN, WAN, and peer-to-peer configurations.

It should also be noted that the disclosed embodiment is not limited toa personal computer, but is also applicable to, for example, a NetworkComputer (“NetPC”), a scaled-down version of the PC, or any system whichaccommodates user interaction and interfaces to information resources.

One typical application of the above noted technique is for providing atriggering event during a program, such as a sport event. In a firstexample, this may be generated by an advertiser. One could imagine that,due to the cost of advertisements in a high profile sports program,there is a desire to utilize this time wisely. If, for example, anadvertiser contracted for 15 seconds worth of advertising time, theycould insert within their program a tone containing the routinginformation. This routing information can then be output to the user'sPC 302 which will cause the user's PC 302 to, via the network, obtaininformation from a remote location typically controlled by theadvertiser. This could be form of an advertisement of a length longerthan that contracted for. Further, this could be an interactive type ofadvertisement. An important aspect to the type of interaction betweenthe actual broadcast program with the embedded routing information andthe manufacturer's site is the fact that there is provided in theinformation as to the user's PC 302 and a profile of the userthemselves. Therefore, an advertiser can actually gain realtimeinformation as to the number of individuals that are watching theirparticular advertisement and also information as to the background ofthose individuals, profile information, etc. This can be a very valuableasset to an advertiser.

In another example, the producer of the program, whether it be an on-airprogram, a program embedded in a video tape, CD-ROM, DVD, or a cassette,can allow the user to automatically access additional information thatis not displayed on the screen. For example, in a sporting event,various statistics can be provided to the user from a remote location,merely by the viewer watching the program. When these statistics areprovided, the advertiser can be provided with profile information andbackground information regarding the user. This can be important when,for example, the user may record a sports program. If the manufacturersees that this program routing code is being output from some device ata time later than the actual broadcast itself, this allows theadvertisers to actually see that their program is still being used andalso what type of individual is using it. Alternatively, the broadcastercould determine the same and actually bill the advertiser an additionalsum for a later broadcast. This is all due to the fact that the routinginformation automatically, through a PC and a network, will provide anindication to the advertiser the time at which the actual informationwas broadcast.

The different type of medium that can be utilized with the aboveembodiment are such things as advertisements, which are discussedhereinabove, contests, games, news programs, education, couponpromotional programs, demonstration media (demos), and photographs, allof which can be broadcast on a private site or a public site. This allwill provide the ability to allow realtime interface with the networkand the remote location for obtaining the routed information and alsoallow for realtime billing and accounting.

Referring now to FIG. 16, there is illustrated a general block diagramof a disclosed embodiment. A bar code scanning input device 1600 isprovided by a input device distributor to customers and is associatedwith that distributor via a input device ID stored therein. The inputdevice 1600 is either sold or freely distributed to customers for usewith their personal computing systems. Since more and more products arebeing sold using bar codes, it can be appreciated that a user having theinput device 1600 can scan bar codes of a multitude of products in orderto obtain more information. Information about these products can be madeimmediately available to the user from the manufacturer for presentationby the user's computer 302. Beyond simply displaying information aboutthe product in which the user is interested, the input devicedistributor may include additional advertising information for displayto the user such as information about other promotions or productsprovided or sold by the input device distributor. Similarly, advertisersmay provide catalogs of advertisements or information in newspapers orperiodicals where the user simply scans the bar code associated with theadvertisement using the input device 1600 to obtain further information.There is provided a paper source 1602 having contained thereon anadvertisement 1604 and an associated bar code 1606. (Note that thedisclosed concept is not limited to scanning of bar codes 1606 frompaper sources 1602, but is also operable to scan a bar code 1606 on theproduct itself. Also, the input device 1600 can be any type of devicethat will scan any type of image having information encoded therein.)

After obtaining the input device 1600 from the input device distributor,the user connects the input device 1600 to their PC 302. During ascanning operation, input device 1600 reads bar code data 1606 and theinput device ID into a “wedge” interface 1608 for conversion intokeyboard data, which keyboard data is passed therefrom into the keyboardinput port of PC 302. The importance of the input device ID will bediscussed in more detail hereinbelow.

The wedge interface 1608 is simply an interface box containing circuitrythat accommodates inputs from both the scanning input device 1600 and acomputer keyboard 1610. This merely allows the information scanned bythe input device 1600 to be input into the PC 302. In the disclosedembodiment, the wedge interface 1608 will convert any information. Thedata output from the input device 1600 is passed into the wedgeinterface 1608 for conversion into keyboard data which is readilyrecognizable by the PC 302. Therefore, the input device 1600 is notrequired to be connected to a separate port on the PC 302. This data isrecognized as a sequence of keystrokes. However, the output of the inputdevice 1600 can be input in any manner compatible with the PC 302. Whennot receiving scanner data, the wedge interface 1608 simply acts as apass-through device for keyboard data from the keyboard 1610. In anycase, the information is ultimately processed by a processor in the PC302 and can be presented to the user on a display 1612. The wedgeinterface is operable to provide a decoding function for the bar code1606 and conversion thereof to keystroke input data.

In operation, the product code of a product is provided in the form of abar code 1606. This bar code 1606 is the “link” to a product. Thedisclosed embodiment is operable to connect that product informationcontained in the bar code 1606 with a web page of the manufacturer ofthat product by utilizing the bar code 1606 as the product “identifier.”The program operating on the PC 302 provides routing information to theARS 308 after launching the browser on the PC 302 and connecting to theARS 308 over the GCN 306, which ARS 308 then performs the necessarysteps to cause the browser to connect to the manufacturer web site,while also providing for an accounting step, as will be described inmore detail hereinbelow.

The bar code 1606 by itself is incompatible with any kind of network forthe purposes of communication therewith. It is primarily provided for aretail-type setting. Therefore, the information contained in the barcode 1606, by itself, does not allow for anything other thanidentification of a product, assuming that one has a database 1614containing information as to a correlation between the product and thebar code 1606.

The wedge interface 1608 is operable to decode the bar code 1606 toextract the encoded information therein, and append to that decoded barcode information relating to an ID for the input device 1600. Thisinformation is then forwarded to the ARS 308 by the resident program inthe PC 302. This is facilitated by intermediate routing informationstored in the program indicating to which node on the GCN 306 thescanned bar code information is to be sent, i.e., to the ARS 308. It isimportant to note that the information in the bar code 1606 must beconverted from its optical image to numerical values which are thenultimately input to the keyboard input port of PC 302 and converted intodata compatible with communication software residing on the PC 302 (inthis case, HTML language for insertion into a browser program). When thescanned information is input to the PC 302, the resident programlaunches the browser program and then assembles a communication packetcomprised of the URL of the ARS 308, the input device ID and the userID. If another type of communications program were utilized, then itwould have to be converted into language compatible with that program.Of course, a user could actually key in the information on the bar code102 and then append the appropriate intermediate routing informationthereafter. As will be described hereinbelow, the intermediate routinginformation appended thereto is the URL of the ARS 308 disposed on theGCN 306.

As part of the configuration for using the input device 1600, the PC 302hosts input device software which is operable to interpret datatransmitted from the input device 1600, and to create a message packethaving the scanned product information and input device ID, routinginformation, and a user ID which identifies the user location of theinput device 1600. The input device software loads at boot-up of the PC302 and runs in the background. In response to receiving a scanned barcode 1606, the wedge interface 1608 outputs a keystroke code (e.g.,ALT-F10) to bring the input device program into the foreground forinteraction by the operating system. The input device program theninserts the necessary information into the browser program. The messagepacket is then transmitted to interface 304 across the globalcommunication network 306 to the ARS 308. The ARS 308 interrogates themessage packet and performs a lookup function using the ARS database310. If a match is found between particular parameters of the messagepacket, a return message packet is sent back to the PC 302 forprocessing.

The input device program running on PC 302 functions to partition thebrowser window displayed to the user into several individual areas. Thisis for the purpose of preparing to present to the user selectedinformation in each of the individual areas (also called “framing”). Theselected information comprises the product information which the userrequested by scanning the bar code 1606 using the input device 1600,information about the input device distributor which establishes theidentity of the company associated with that particular input device1600, and at least one or more other frames which may be advertisementsrelated to other products that the input device distributor sells. Notethat the advertisements displayed by the input device distributor may berelated to the product of interest or totally unrelated. For example, ifa user scans the bar code 1606 of a soda from Company A, the inputdevice distributor may generate an advertisement of a new soft drinkbeing marketed by Company A, that it sells. On the other hand, the inputdevice distributor may also structure the display of information to theuser such that a user requesting product information of a Product X mayget the requested information of Product X along with advertisements fora competing item Product Y. Essentially, the input device distributor isfree to generate any advertisement to the user in response to the userrequesting product information.

The return message packet transmitted from the ARS 308 to the PC 302 isthen transmitted back across the GCN 306 to the advertiser server 312.The advertiser server 312 restructures the message packet and appendsthe particular product information for transmission back to the PC 302.Upon receiving the particular advertiser information from advertiserserver 312, the PC 302 then retransmits a message to the input devicedistributor site 1616 and E-commerce site 1618 to obtain the informationthat needs to be framed in the browser window displayed to the user.

Therefore, the input device 1600 is associated with the input devicedistributor by way of a input device ID such that scanning a product barcode 1606 in order to obtain information about that particular productgenerates one or more responses from one or more remote sites disposedon the GCN 306. Stored in the input device 1600 is the input device IDwhich establishes its relationship to the input device distributor.Proprietary input device software running on the PC 302 operates todecode scanned bar code information and the input device ID receivedfrom the input device 1600 and wedge interface 1608, and also provides aunique user ID for establishing the location of the user of the inputdevice 1600. The input device software also assembles message packetsand works in conjunction with the on-board communication software (e.g.,a browser) to automatically route the message packets across the GCN 306such that the one or more remote sites disposed on the GCN 306 returninformation to be framed for presentation to the user.

Referring now to FIG. 17, there is illustrated a conversion circuit ofthe wedge interface. A microcontroller 1700 provides conversion of thedata from the input device 1600 and controls interfacing of the keyboard1610 and input device 1600 with the PC 302. The microcontroller 1700 hascontained therein a memory 1702 or it can have external memory. Thereare provided a plurality of input device interfaces 1704 to the inputdevice 1600, a plurality of PC 302 interfaces 1706 to the PC 302, andplurality of keyboard interfaces 1708 to the keyboard 1610. In general,the input device interfaces 1704 comprise a serial data line, a groundline, and a power line. Similarly, the keyboard interfaces 1708 comprisea serial data line, a ground line, a clock line, and a power line. ThePC 302 provides a clock line, a power line, a serial data, and a groundline for input to the microcontroller 1700. The microcontroller 1700 isoperable to receive signals from the keyboard 1610 and transfer thesignals to the PC 302 as keyboard signals. Operation with the keyboard1610 is essentially a “pass-through” procedure. Data output from thekeyboard 1610 is already in keyboard format, and therefore requires noconversion by the wedge interface 1608. With respect to the input device1600, the serial data is not compatible with a keyboard 1610 and,therefore, it must be converted into a keyboard format in order to allowinput thereof to the keyboard input of the PC 302.

The microcontroller 1700 performs this function after decoding this barcode information, and conversion of this bar code information into anappropriate stream of data which is comprised of the bar codeinformation and the appended URL. This appended URL will be pre-storedin the memory 1702 and is programmable at the time of manufacture. It isnoted that the memory 1702 is illustrated as being contained within themicrocontroller 1702 to provide a single chip solution. However, thiscould be external memory that is accessible by the microcontroller 1702.Therefore, the microcontroller 1700 provides an interface between theinput device 1600 and the keyboard 1610 to the PC 302 which allows theinput device 1600 to receive coded information and convert it tokeyboard strokes or, alternatively, to merely pass-through thekeystrokes from the keyboard 1610. Therefore, the user need not installany type of plug-in circuit board into the motherboard of the PC 302 inorder to provide an interface to the input device 1600; rather, the userneed only utilize the already available keyboard port in order to inputthe appropriate data into the system.

In this particular disclosed embodiment, the microcontroller 1700comprises a PIC16C73 microcontroller by Microchip Technologies™. ThePIC16C73 device is a low cost CMOS 8-bit microcontroller with anintegrated analog-to-digital converter. The PIC16C73 device, asillustrated in the disclosed embodiment, has 192 bytes of RAM and 4 k×4of EPROM memory. The microcontroller 1700 can accommodate asynchronousor synchronous inputs from input devices connected to it. In thisdisclosed embodiment, communication to the keyboard 1610 is synchronouswhile it is asynchronous when communicating with input device 1600.

It should be noted that, although in this particular embodiment bar codeinformation of the bar code 1606 is input into the keyboard input portof the PC 302, disclosed methods may also be advantageously utilizedwith high speed port architectures such as Universal Serial Bus (“USB”)and IEEE 1394.

Bar codes are structured to be read in either direction. Timingconsiderations need to be addressed because of the variety ofindividuals scanning the bar code introduce a wide variety of scanrates. Bar codes use bars of varying widths. The presence of a black bargenerates a positive pulse, and the absence of a black bar generates nopulse. Each character of a conventional bar code has associatedtherewith seven pulses or bars. Depending on the width of the bars, thetime between pulses varies. In this disclosed embodiment, the interfacecircuitry 1608 performs a “running” calculation of the scan time basedupon the rising edge of the pulses commencing with the leader or headerinformation. The minimum and maximum scans times are calculatedcontinuously in software with the interface 1608 during the scanningprocess to ensure a successful scan by the user.

Referring now to FIG. 18, there is illustrated a sample message packettransmitted from the user's PC 302 to the ARS 308. The message packet1800 comprises a number of bits of information including the bar code1606 information 1802 obtained from the user scanning the bar code withthe input device 1600; the input device ID 1804 which is embedded in amemory in the input device 1600 and identifies it with a particularinput device distributor; and a user ID 1806 which is derived from thesoftware running on the PC 302 and which identifies uniquely with theuser location. Note that the message packet includes other necessaryinformation 1802 for the proper transmission for point to point.

Referring now to FIG. 19, there is illustrated a more detailed blockdiagram of the routing of the message packets in order to present theframed information to the user. As is mentioned hereinabove, when theuser scans a bar code 1606 using the input device 1600, a input deviceprogram running on the user PC 302 is operable to interpret theinformation output by the input device 1600 and generate a messagepacket for transmission over the GCN 306. The input device programassembles the message packet such that it is directed to the ARS 308disposed on the GCN 306. The message packet contains several pieces ofinformation including the input device ID 1804 which links it to theinput device distributor, the user ID 1806 which identifies theparticular user using the input device 1600, and bar code informationdescribing a particular product of interest to the user. This messagefrom the PC 302 is transmitted over a path 1900 to the ARS 308 where theARS database 310 is accessed to cross reference the ID information 1804and bar code information to a particular advertiser and input devicedistributor. The ARS 308 returns a message packet over a path 1902 to1802 to the user PC 302 which contains routing information as to thelocation of various other sites disposed on the GCN 306, for example,the advertiser server 312 and input device distributor site 1616.

It can be appreciated that other information can also be provided by theARS 308 which more closely targets the particular user of the inputdevice 1600. For example, if it is known that a particular input device1600 is sold in a certain geographic area, this information can beuseful in targeting the particular user with certain advertisinginformation relevant to that geographic area. In any case, theinformation returned from the ARS 308 over path 1902 provides enoughinformation for the input device program running on the user PC 302 toidentify a number of other sites disposed on the GCN 306. The user PC302 then processes the return message packet and routes another messagepacket over a path 1904 to the advertiser server 312. The advertiserserver 312 then returns product information of the particular product inwhich the user was interested back to the user PC 302 over a path 1906.Similarly, the user PC 302 routes information (e.g., the URL of theinput device distributor site and the user profile) to the input devicedistributor site 1616 over a path 1908 in order to obtain informationback over a path 1910 for framing any banners which identify the inputdevice distributor. Additionally, the user PC 302 forwards a messagepacket to the E-commerce site 1618 over a path 1912 in order to returninformation regarding any particular advertisements the input devicedistributor wants to display to the user. The advertisements arereturned to the PC 302 over a path 1914.

Referring now to FIG. 20, there is illustrated a block diagram of abrowser window according to the disclosed embodiment. The browser window2000 is partitioned into a plurality of areas for framing specificinformation. A bar code area 2002 displays that product information inwhich the user was interested; a input device-specific area 2004displays information about the input Device 2104 distributor; and anE-commerce area 2006 displays advertising information that the inputdevice 1600 distributor selects for display according to this particularuser and input device 1600. As mentioned hereinabove, a program operableto process scanned bar code information with the unique input device1600 1600 develops the browser window by partitioning it into specificareas for the framing of information. Therefore, information returnedfrom the E-commerce site 1608 is passed through the GCN 306 to theparticular E-commerce frame 2006. Similarly, information about theparticular product of interest is returned from the advertiser site 312across the GCN 306 to the particular bar code specific area 2002.Information placed in the input device specific area 2004 is informationabout the input device distributor which is returned from the inputdevice distributor site 1616 across GCN 306.

Referring now to FIG. 21, there is illustrated a structure ofinformation contained in the ARS database. The ARS database 310 containsa variety of information required to properly interrogate and assemblepackets for obtaining information from the various sites disposed on theGCN 306. The ARS database 310 has a database structure 2100 whichcontains addresses for the web sites containing the product informationrequested by the user when scanning the bar code 1606 with the inputdevice 1600. Under a product heading 2102 are listed the particular barcodes and associated routing information for addressing the respectiveserver location. For example, the ARS server 308 may contain any numberof advertisers having unique URL addresses associated therewith.Therefore, the bar code 1606 of a particular product is associated witha unique URL address which routes any request for information of thatproduct to that particular advertiser's site. Also part of the ARSdatabase structure 2000 is a heading of input device under which is theinput device ID 1804 and the distributor associated with that inputdevice ID 1804.

It can be appreciated that there may be a number of distributors usingthe disclosed architecture such that each distributor has an ID embeddedin the input device which uniquely identifies that input device with theparticular distributor. Therefore, the unique input device ID 1804 needsto be listed with the respective distributors of that input device 1600in order to process the information that needs to be framed anddisplayed to that particular user. Another heading under the ARSdatabase structure 2100 is a user heading 2106 which contains profileinformation associated with that particular user ID 1806. As mentionedhereinabove, the user ID 1806 is obtained via the input device softwarerunning on the PC 302 and upon installation or subsequent configurationmay request that the user input certain profile information which may beused to target that particular user with products and services whichidentify with that user profile. The ARS database structure 2100 alsocontains an E-commerce heading 2108 which contains information relatedto the bar code 1606 and an advertisement that may be triggered by therequest for that information. For example, any bar code 1606 associatedwith a paper source 1600 can be associated with the specific informationin the ARS database 310. A user wishing to obtain information about aspecific soft drink may, in fact, trigger an advertising response of acompetitor product. Similarly, the user interested in information aboutthat particular soft drink may also trigger information which isrelevant to that particular product or a product which may normally beserved in conjunction with that soft drink. Furthermore, if the userprofile indicates that this individual has significant interest infinance or insurance, the request for information regarding thisparticular bar coded product may trigger advertisement from anE-commerce server 1618 related to information about finance andinsurance. It should be noted that the information described ascontained within the ARS database structure 2100 is not limited to whathas been described, but may comprise any number of pieces of informationused to present desired information to the computer display of the user.

Referring now to FIG. 22, there is illustrated a flowchart of theprocess of receiving information from the user's perspective, andaccording to the disclosed embodiment. The input device software runningon the user's PC 302 runs in the background until activated by outputfrom the input device 1600. Therefore, flow moves to a decision block2200 where if a scanned input does not occur, flow moves out the “N”path and loops back to the input of decision block 2200. On the otherhand, if scanned input information is received, flow moves out the “Y”path to a function block 2202 where the input device software assemblesa messages packet containing the bar code information, the input deviceID 1804 and the ARS 308 URL address. Additionally, the browser islaunched in which this information is placed for transmission to the ARS308. Flow then moves to a function block 2204 where the browser ispartitioned into any number of areas in which information is displayedwhen obtained from the input device distributor site 1616, theE-commerce site 1618, and the advertiser server 312. It should be knownthat although three frames are shown in the particular window 2000 ofthis embodiment, the number of frames displayed in the window 2000 islimited only by the available real estate of the window 2000 areaitself.

After the input device software partitions the browser window into oneor more frames in preparation of receipt of return information, flowmoves to a decision block 2206 where the computer waits for informationto be returned from the various sites disposed on the GCN 306. Ifinformation is not returned, flow moves out the “N” path and simplyloops back to the input to continue monitoring for receipt of theinformation. If information has been received, flow moves out the “Y”path to a function block 2208 where routing information for each frame(or partitioned area of the window 2000) is inserted into one or morepackets for transmission to the various sites. The various sites thenreturn the requested information back to the PC 302, as indicated infunction block 2210. Flow is then to a function block 2212 where theproprietary software working in conjunction with the hosted browserplaces the returned information into the respective frames of thewindow. The user, viewing the display at PC 302, then perceives avariety of information, one of which is the particular productinformation which he or she requested, in addition to input devicedistributor information, and possibly other advertisements based uponthe user's profile.

Referring now to FIG. 23, there is illustrated a flowchart of theprocess according to the ARS. The ARS 308 is operable to decode andprocess message received from the GCN 306. Therefore, flow is to adecision block 2300 where, if bar code information is not received, flowis out the “N” path with loop-back to its input. If bar code informationhas been received, flow is to a function block 2302 where a matchingprocess occurs to link the bar-coded product information to itsrespective manufacturer. The ARS database 310 also associates the URLaddress of the manufacturer's server. When a match is found, the ARS 308begins to assemble a message packet of information for transmission backto the PC 302, as indicated in function block 2304. The message packetcontains the product information and the URL address of themanufacturer's website. Flow then moves to a decision block 2306 wherethe input device ID 1804 is compared with the list of input device IDsissued by the particular input device distributor. If the input deviceID 1804 is validated, flow moves out the “Y” path to a function block2308 where the message packet is appended with the input device ID 1804and distributor routing address. Flow then moves to a decision block2310 where the ARS 308 determines if any E-commerce information is to beassociated with a particular input device ID 1804. If so, flow is outthe “Y” path to a function block 2312 where the message packet isappended with the E-commerce routing string. The E-commerce routingstring provides addressing for the E-commerce server 1618. Flow thenmoves to a function block 2314 where all message packets are returnedback to the PC 302 for processing.

Referring back to decision block 2306, if the input device ID 1804 isdetermined to be invalid, flow moves out the “N” path and jumps forwardto the input of decision block 2314, since the lack of a input device ID1804 interrupts the link to any advertising provided by the E-commerceserver 1618. At this point, the only information provided is the link tothe advertiser server 312 for return of product information. Referringnow to decision block 2310, if no E-commerce information is available,flow moves out the “N” path and jumps forward to the input of functionblock 2314 where the message packet back to the PC 302 contains only theURL of the advertiser server 312, the bar code information, thedistributor server 1616 address and input device ID 1804 information.

Referring now to FIG. 24, there is illustrated a flowchart of theprocess performed at the E-commerce site. The E-commerce server 1618receives the message packet from the user PC 302, as indicated infunction block 2400, and decodes the packet to perform a match with thebar coded information. Moving on to a decision block 2402, if the matchis unsuccessful, flow is out the “N” path to a function block 2404 wherethe match is rejected. A message may be returned to indicate that aproblem occurred and the user may need to re-scan the product bar code1606. If a successful match occurs, flow moves out the “Y” path to afunction block 2406 where the input device ID 1804 is matched with thebar code product information. The bar coded information may bedistributed to customers over a large geographic area. However, theinput device 1606 may be coded for certain geographic areas. Forexample, a input device 1600 having an XXX ID may be restricted for salein the Southwestern United States while a input device 1600 having a YYYID may be sold only in the Northeast. In this way, geographic areas maybe targeted with advertising more appealing to that particular area.Advertising returned to the user PC 302 may be focused further byobtaining a user profile when the software or input device 1600 areinstalled. In this way, advertising may be focused based upon the userprofile. Therefore, flow moves to a function block 2408 to lookup theE-commerce action based upon the input device ID 1804 and the bar codeinformation. Flow moves to a function block 2410 to assemble all theinformation into a packet for return to the user PC 302. The productinformation and/or user profile information may be returned. Flow isthen to a function block 2412 where the message packet is transmitted.

Referring now to FIG. 25, there is illustrated a diagrammatic view of analternate embodiment of the system wherein the advertiser can manipulateinformation in the ARS database 310. In the system illustrated in FIG.25, there is provided an advertiser control server 2502 and a pluralityof slave advertiser servers 2504. These are labeled Adv A, Adv B, Adv C,and Adv D. The advertiser control server 2502 is operable to receive andtransmit data over the global communication network 306. Similarly, eachof the slave advertiser servers 2504 are also operable to send andreceive data over the global communication network 306. It should benoted that there can be a plurality of different advertisers, each withan advertiser control server and each with individual and associatedslave servers. In the embodiment of FIG. 25, there is only illustrated asingle advertiser control server 2502 and its associated slave servers2504 for a single advertiser.

The advertiser control server can fully function to interface with theuser PC 302 as described hereinabove to provide an interconnectiontherewith, which interconnection is one that is “handed off” from theARS 308 in conjunction with forwarding to the ARS the unique code thattriggers the overall connection. This has been described in detailhereinabove and will not be described with respect to the embodiment ofFIG. 25.

In general operation of the embodiment of FIG. 25, a user will accessthe ARS 308 and the associated advertiser database 310 to retrieverouting information therefrom which is required to connect with adetermined remote location on the web, as defined by the advertiserdatabase 310 and the associative database therein. However, thisassociation in the database is one that is predefined. This can bepredefined by the service provider of the ARS 308 or it can be definedby the advertiser at the advertiser control server 2502. In thisembodiment, the advertiser control server 2502 has access to the ARS 308to allow manipulation of the “pointers” that define the location on theglobal communication network 306 of the location that the user is to berouted to. The advertiser control server 2502 has knowledge, or possiblyeven ownership, of the unique code that is forwarded to the ARS 308. Theadvertiser control server 2502 has the ability to interface with the ARS308 for the purpose of changing these pointers, i.e., changing thelocation to which the user will be routed upon entering the unique code.

In one example, consider a situation wherein an advertiser has caused tobe embedded within a broadcast a unique encoded audio tone. When thetone is decoded and the information extracted therefrom, this provides aunique value or a unique code. The sole determination of where the userPC 302 is routed is a function of what is contained within theadvertiser database 310. However, the advertiser may desire, at sometime during the life of a given advertisement, to change the location towhich the user PC 302 is routed. It may even be that this decision istemporal in nature, i.e., at late hours, the advertisement may bedirected toward a different class of audience. Further, the routingchange may be dynamic, i.e., after a number of hits to a site, therouting may be changed. Further, “routing” can mean connection to adifferent web page at the same server or a completely differentlocation.

To facilitate a control operation, the advertiser control server 2502 isallowed access to the ARS database via password protection. Onceaccessing the database, then the pointers to the various slave servers2504 can be set. Of course, the advertiser control server 2502 itselfcan incorporate the functionality of a slave server, i.e., that beingthe ability to interact with a user PC 302 in order to provideinformation thereto and extract information therefrom.

Referring now to FIG. 26, there is illustrated a table depicting theorganization of the advertiser database 310 in one embodiment. Thisparticular table of FIG. 26 is divided into four columns, one for theadvertiser, one for the unique code associated with that advertiser, onefor the associated routing address and one for a rerouting operation.Each advertiser is provided with a unique advertiser number and eachadvertiser will have associated therewith a set of unique codes. It isimportant that each advertiser have the unique code associated therewithdue to the fact that this particular advertiser may have anadvertisement generated which has a tone embedded therein havingassociated therewith encoded digital data. It would, of course, be verydifficult for the advertiser to delete his advertisement once releasedand, therefore, it would be desirable to own the codes. For each uniquecode in the table, there will be provided a routing address, thistypically being the routing address (URL) of the advertiser controlserver. This defines the advertiser in the database for a number ofpurposes. Additionally, there will be a reroute column, which willdetermine if the user PC is to be routed to the advertiser controlserver at its URL (a default routing) or is to be routed to one of theslave servers. In the table of FIG. 26, the advertiser 1011 has a URL of“111.111.111.111,” which defines its address on the global communicationnetwork 306. In the first row, the reroute information indicates thatthis system is to be routed to the advertiser control server 2502itself, which, as noted hereinabove, can function as a slave server.Therefore, the user PC 302 for the unique code associated with the firstrow will be directed to the advertiser control server 2502. However, inthe second column, the routing address of the advertiser control server2502 is provided, but the reroute information indicates that the user PCshould be routed to the slave server 2504 labeled Adv A. This reroutinginformation would, of course, include the URL of the slave server 2504labeled Adv A. The advertiser control server 2502, while interactingwith the database 302 at the ARS 308 site, has access to the rerouteinformation. By inserting into the reroute information the location orURL of the desired slave server, the advertiser control server 2502 caneffectively control routing on the global communication network 306 in areal-time mode. This merely requires accessing the row associated withthe desired code and changing the reroute information associated withthat desired code.

Referring now to FIG. 27, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation at the advertiser control server 2502. The program isinitiated at a start block 2704 and then proceeds to a function block2706 wherein the advertiser control server 2502 accesses the ARS 308. Apassword is entered at a function block 2708 and then the programdetermines if this is a valid password at a decision block 2710. If not,the program will flow back to a time-out decision block 2712 todetermine if enough time has passed. The program will continue to loopback to a function block 2708 until a time out operation, at which timeit will flow to an exit block 2714. When determined to be valid, theprogram will flow to a function block 2716 to access the routinginformation in the routing tables of FIG. 26. The program will then flowto a function block 2718 to set the routing table parameters inaccordance with the programmed operation of the advertiser controlserver 2502. In this operation, the advertiser server will send newrouting information in conjunction with the unique code associated withthat advertiser. The ARS 308, of course, will not allow a unique codeassociated with another advertiser to be changed. Therefore, acomparison will be made between the unique code and the advertiser todetermine which row the reroute information will be stored in. There mayeven be a second operation wherein the ARS 308 will perform a command tothe slave server 2504 determined be the routed-to node to determine ifthat node is, in fact, a valid node. This would validate the routinginformation. Once all the table parameters are set, the program willflow from function block 2718 to a decision block 2720 to determine ifthe routing parameters have been completely set. If not, the programwill loop back to the input of block 2718. When completed, the programwill flow to an End block 2722.

Referring now to FIG. 28, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoverall operation of manipulating data in the ARS 308 by the advertisercontrol server 2502, which in initiated at block 2802. The program,after initiation, flows to a function block 2804 wherein the useraccesses the ARS 308 and then the user is connected to the advertisernode defined in the table of FIG. 26 in association with the unique codeafforded thereto by the user, as indicated in a function block 2806. Theprogram then flows to a function block 2808 to reroute the user to thepointed-to node and then to the function block 2810 to complete theadvertising operation wherein information is transferred from theconnected-to node over to the user. The program then flows to a decisionblock 2812 to determine if information in the table of FIG. 26 is to bechanged. This is an operation that is not controlled by the user, but,rather by the advertiser itself. This would be a program that could becontained at the ARS, but in this embodiment, it is contained at theinterfacing one of the nodes 2504 or 2502. Once an operation iscompleted, the node 2504 can then determine whether there is someoperation or action that must be taken to do a reroute. If so, theprogram will flow to a function block 2814 and, if not, the program willflow to an End block 2816. At block 2814, the program operation isrouted to the control server 2502, this being through a command sentthereto by the slave node 2504. At this point, the advertiser controlserver 2502 will access the ARS 308, as noted in function block 2818 andthen flow to a function block 2820 to change the table and then to theEnd block 2816. This operation of block 2818 and 2820 is facilitatedwith the flowchart of FIG. 27.

Referring now to FIG. 29, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation at the slave node 2504, which is initiated at a block 2902 andthen flows to a function block 2904 to receive the request. Once therequest is received, the program will service the request, as indicatedby block 2906 and then the program flows to a decision block 2908 todetermine if a routing change is required. If not, the program will flowto an End block 2910 and, if so, the program will flow to a functionblock 2912 to send a command to the main advertiser control server 2502and then to the End block 2910. Of course, although the program isindicated as having to be sent back to the advertiser control server2502, it is conceivable that the slave node 2504 to which the connectionis made could, in accordance with some predetermined programmingfunction, do the rerouting. It could actually access the routing tableat the ARS 308 and change the information therein. It need only have thecorrect password and other information to provide this access. Thisessentially would distribute the overall control function of theadvertiser control server 2502.

Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, itshould be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterationscan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for delivering information from a source location on aglobal communication network to a user location thereon, comprising thesteps of: associating a unique code having no routing information withan advertising action; storing the unique code in a database;associating with the unique code in the database with routinginformation over the global communication network to a defined sourcelocation on the global communication network; delivering the unique codeto a user; accessing the database by the user and retrieving the routinginformation associated with the unique code delivered to the user;connecting the user to the defined source location associated with thedelivered unique code in the database and in accordance with theassociated routing information retrieved from the database; and changingthe routing information associated in the database with the deliveredunique code to another defined location on the global communicationnetwork in response to a previous access of information from the source,such that a later access of the database will cause the accessing userto be routed to the another defined location.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the database is stored at a remote location.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the remote location is disposed on a node on the globalcommunication network, and the step of accessing comprises accessing thedatabase over the global communication network at the remote node andretrieving the associated routing information therefrom over the globalcommunication network.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the remotelocation comprises an intermediate location and the step of accessingcomprises the steps of: transferring the unique code from the userlocation on the global communication network to the intermediatelocation; comparing the received unique code with the database anddetermining if there is a match therein; if there is a match, retrievingfrom the database the routing information associated with the receivedunique code; and returning the retrieved routing information to the userlocation.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of connectingcomprises: receiving the retrieved routing information delivered to theuser location from the intermediate location; and utilizing the receivedrouting information from the intermediate location to define the routeover the global communication network to the source location andconnecting thereto.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofdelivering the unique code to the user comprises delivering the uniquecode to the user at the user location.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of delivering the unique code to the user comprises notdelivering the unique code over the global communication network.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the step of delivering comprises deliveringthe unique code to the user through a transmission broadcast which isreceivable by the user at the user location.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the unique code is delivered by encoding the unique code in anaudio segment of a relatively short duration.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the step of accessing includes the step of receiving the encodedunique code and decoding the received unique code to extract the uniquecode information therefrom.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the stepof delivering the unique code comprises delivering the unique codethrough the printed media.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof changing occurs over the global communication network.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the step of changing comprises: accessing thedatabase over the global communication network from an advertisingcontrol server location on the global communication network; andtransferring updated parameter information comprising a new definedlocation in association with a predetermined one of the unique codesstored in said database.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theadvertiser control server is associated with a predetermined pluralityof unique codes in the database.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein thestep of accessing the database comprises a password protection methodrequiring the input of the password from the advertising control serverbefore access is granted.
 16. A method for receiving information from asource location on a global communication network at a user locationthereon, comprising the steps of: receiving a unique code by a user atthe user location on the global communications network, the receivedunique code having no routing information associated therewith, and thereceived unique code associated with an advertising action; accessing adatabase having a plurality of unique codes stored therein, at least thereceived unique code associated in the database with routing informationover the global communication network to a defined source location onthe global communication network; the step of accessing the database bythe user operable to retrieve the routing information associated withthe received unique code in the database delivered to the user at theuser location on the global communication network; connecting the userto the defined source location associated with the delivered unique codein the database and in accordance with the associated routinginformation retrieved from the database; and the step of accessing thedatabase and retrieving operable to cause a change of the routinginformation associated in the database with the delivered unique code toanother defined location on the global communication network, such thata later access of the database will cause the accessing user to berouted to the another defined location.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein all of the plurality of unique codes in the database areassociated with defined locations on the global communications network.18. The method of claim 16, wherein all of the plurality of unique codesin the database are associated with an advertising action.
 19. A methodfor delivering information from a source location on a globalcommunication network to a user location thereon, comprising the stepsof: storing the unique code in a database; associating with the uniquecode in the database with routing information over the globalcommunication network to a defined source location on the globalcommunication network; delivering the unique code to a user; accessingthe database by the user and retrieving the routing informationassociated with the unique code delivered to the user; connecting theuser to the defined source location associated with the delivered uniquecode in the database and in accordance with the associated routinginformation retrieved from the database; and changing the routinginformation associated in the database with the delivered unique code toanother defined location on the global communication network in responseto a previous access of information from the source, such that a lateraccess of the database will cause the accessing user to be routed to theanother defined location.